New York Yankees @ Houston Astros: Domingo Germán vs. Luis Garcia

The New York Yankees return from the break with as tough of a challenge as Major League Baseball could’ve drawn up for the owners of the top record in baseball in a historically successful first half. The AL East leaders are on the road for a Thursday doubleheader against the Houston Astros. They lost the opener in walk-off fashion, 3-2, which clinched the season series victory for Houston, but New York will try to salvage the nightcap.

The Yankees faced Luis Garcia in the one-game makeup in Houston back on June 30th, when he was the winning pitcher in a 2-1 loss for New York. The 25-year-old right-hander went 5.1 innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out six.

After a few rehab starts in the minors, the Yankees will give Domingo Germán his first start of the 2022 campaign in the big leagues. With the recent injury to Luis Severino, they definitely need him more than a few weeks ago. In his last rehab start at Triple-A, Germán tossed six shutout frames of three-hit ball, though he only fanned three batters. He’ll have 27th man JP Sears to back him up in the bullpen if he runs into trouble.

It’s interesting to highlight that both of these teams are having tremendous seasons, and stand out in virtually every category, but while the Yankees have fared really well against the AL West, going 10-4 in those games, the Astros have been middling against the powerful AL East, carrying a 7-8 record against those teams. Still, they’ve played the Yankees tough, as their 4-2 head-to-head mark attests.

After only pinch-hitting in the matinee, Giancarlo Stanton and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are back in the starting lineup for the nightcap. Joining them from the Game 1 bench are Josh Donaldson at third, Tim Locastro in right field, and Kyle Higashioka behind the plate. Matt Carpenter will handle first and Aaron Judge will DH, while DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Trevino, Joey Gallo, and Marwin Gonzalez take a seat.

How to watch:

Location: Minute Maid Park — Houston, TX

First pitch: 6:40 pm EDT

TV Broadcast: YES Network, AT&T SportsNet-SW, MLB Network (out-of-market-only)

Radio Broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2. KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3 / KLAT 1010

Online Stream: MLB.tv

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